‘Mess with the devil, you get the horns’
Hellboy is a 2018 American fantasy action horror film directed by Neil Marshall (The Reckoning; The Descent; Dog Soldiers) from a screenplay by Andrew Cosby, Christopher Golden and Hellboy graphic novel creator Mike Mignola. Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin produced along with Mike Richardson of Dark Horse Entertainment. It is an ‘R’-rated reboot of the Hellboy franchise.
Main cast:
David Harbour (Stranger Things) plays the titular character, Ian McShane (Pirates of the Caribbean movies; Too Scared to Scream; The Ballad of Tam Lin) is Professor Bloom and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil) is the Blood Queen. Sasha Lane is Alice Monaghan, Penelope Mitchell is Ganeida and Daniel Dae Kim as Ben Daimio. Sophie Okonedo, Brian Gleeson and Alistair Petrie, round out the main cast.
Plot:
Hellboy travels to England, where he must defeat Nimue, Merlin’s consort, and the Blood Queen. But their battle will bring about the end of the world, a fate he desperately tries to turn away…
Reviews:
“The screenplay is a mess; way too much is crammed in (at least four major comic storylines), the dialogue is often cringe-worthy, and it’s unfocused. There’s no finesse to the characters, and this take on the big red half-demon isn’t much at all like his comic counterpart.” Bloody Disgusting
“The script, which incorporates multiple comic book strands, feels cobbled together, and while that allows for the occasional fun set-piece (Hellboy goes hunting for giants!), it’s an unencumbered mess, flitting between locations and characters without pause or prudence. And the clear desperation for an R rating seems like thoughtless, empty blood-lust. Gallons of computer-generated claret are spilled; rarely does it make an impact.” Empire
” …none of it has any substance or emotional impact, because it all looks incredibly fake. It’s not unlike the unfunny love-child of Van Helsing and something like Olaf Ittenbach’s The Burning Moon: brutal, insane, often even creative ultraviolence perpetrated on unwitting and underserving citizens for the entertainment of the masses.” Screen Anarchy
“It’s lunging to be a badass hard-R epic, but it’s basically a pile of origin-story gobbledygook, frenetic and undercooked, full of limb-hacking, eye-gouging monster battles as well as an atmosphere of apocalyptic grunge that signifies next to nothing. Playing Hellboy, David Harbour has a tough act to follow and does well, but the real tough act to follow is del Toro’s…” Variety
“The indelible gruesomeness is a credit to Hellboy’s ambition to deliver bloody, grisly shocks and nightmare fuel. Unfortunately, these three or so scenes — one could probably compile them into a single six-minute YouTube clip — do little to make up for the hefty amount of disappointment and unspooled storytelling throughout the rest of the movie.” Vox
Co-star of the movie, Milla Jovovich posted the following on her Instagram page:
“It’s always stressful on opening weekend and @hellboymovie is no different. You work super hard to make something fun and entertaining and have to absorb the negative reviews by movie critics, but hey! THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY.
All I’m gonna say before going to bed is this: All my raddest films have been slammed by critics. It’s f*cking hilarious. Dazed and Confused? Seriously? Classic movie. The Fifth Element! You would have thought that was the worst movie ever made if you read the reviews in like ‘98. Zoolander? Slammed. Joan of Arc? Disaster. Resident Evil? Let’s not even go there. Anyway, every one of those films is now a cult classic. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. And this will be too. Mark my words.”
“Why?
1. Because of the amazing actors. David Harbour. Ian Mcshane. Daniel Dae Kim. Sasha Lane. They are all so damn wonderful and talented, the movie is worth seeing just because they’re in it, especially one that’s so much fun to experience as this is. 2. @mikemignola who created the #Hellboy comics helped write the script and was on set every single day to make this film as close to his vision as possible.
3. It was directed by one of the greats. #NeilMarshall who brought us “The Descent”. One of the greatest horror movies ever. Trust me, you’re gonna have a blast watching the new @hellboymovie. I mean, one critic said “it’s a loud, gory mess only a teenager would love.”HELL yea Hellboy! Let’s have some fun! And with that, I wish you all a good night! Xo m”
